This is just for Les Edwards

[lesedwards]

This is to Longbomber, you asked on the Canadian Thread which blacks I take first when trying to do the line up. I start with the reds directly above the Black. Most times before I have run even three reds I will miss. I think it comes down to concentration. Last summer I gave up on Snooker for the summer but this time I want to setup a routine that I can work on all summer so I am ready for our Qualifiers in September.

[thelongbomber]

This is to Longbomber, you asked on the Canadian Thread which blacks I take first when trying to do the line up. I start with the reds directly above the Black. Most times before I have run even three reds I will miss. I think it comes down to concentration. Last summer I gave up on Snooker for the summer but this time I want to setup a routine that I can work on all summer so I am ready for our Qualifiers in September.

If you take the reds above the black first, then if you get slightly high on the black, the reds below the black will be a problem as cannons become inevitable. In trying to avoid cannons, you then end up maneuvering the cue ball in a way that you wouldn't normally do in a match and so the lineup no longer becomes a match-ready routine (one of my main issues with the lineup in general) in fact would HARM your game, rather than help it.

One of my friends suggests not placing any reds below the black at all as these aren't as common in match play. He suggests 4 reds between black and pink, 5 reds between pink and blue, and 6 reds between blue and baulk. Alternately, try 6-5-4 instead also. In this setup, the reds he suggests taking first are the ones around black and pink. This way, you can play proper stuns off the pink and black and avoid cannons. I have found that once you get these reds cleared, the lineup becomes much easier.

The more advanced players are doing the lineup sequentially, but at the level you are playing at, I would say it's too difficult.

To cannon or not to cannon is the other issue I have with the lineup. Lineup fundamentalists will say no cannons while guys like me would say play the cannon (because you would in match play) if necessary.

In terms of missing, if you DO miss, setup the routine from the beginning. This way, you build your pressure muscles.

[lesedwards]

Okay I took the last couple of nights off so tonight I will try it.

[markz]

Yes I know your right. Back to the basics. I have the complete Snooker Gym How to make a 100 Break, plus I have the new training ball coming from The Snooker Gym the first week of June. Time to go back to Chapter 1 and work on one chapter a week and not stray away from it. I think Terry hit the nail on the head when he said my basic technique is weak so it works when I am practicing but when I put it under pressure it breaks down. 8 weeks 8 Chapters and I will see where I am at after that.

Did a search for Nic Barrow and found this old thread. Just wondered what you think of the products Les and which one you would recommend. I did buy the training ball myself to use with the iPhone app but I've never got round to using either. A young lad I practice with has been looking at the Snooker Gym DVDs or the 100 break ebook.

[lesedwards]

Did a search for Nic Barrow and found this old thread. Just wondered what you think of the products Les and which one you would recommend. I did buy the training ball myself to use with the iPhone app but I've never got round to using either. A young lad I practice with has been looking at the Snooker Gym DVDs or the 100 break ebook.

LMAO, you know how it helped me...LOL To tell you the truth to be fair to Nic I bought the How to make a 100 break which has chapters from yellow through to Black. I had a 5 x 10 Snooker table when I started with it and each Chapter moves you along right from the basics with each chapter asking you to play a match and make a break of what ever then the next chapter a little bigger and so on. I finished the Brown chapter with a 40 break and was making them pretty consistenty and in fact my second tournament that Terry talked me into playing in I ran a 43. The week after my 43 I sold my 5 x 10 and bought an old Burroughs and Watts 6 x 12 with extremely tight pockets. 3-1/8" which Cliff played on and called it Snooker Prison. That's when my problems begun. I could not make a ball and I started to jab at it, confidence went down the road with my 5 x10 and I could not run 10. Sure it was a 5 x10 but you still have to make position to run 40. I have struggled ever since and never went back to my Snooker Gym. I thought about The Snooker Gym the other night. Maybe it was time to start at the beginning. Sorry for the long reply but I had to explain myself. Now you really have me thinking....LOL

[markz]

LMAO, you know how it helped me...LOL To tell you the truth to be fair to Nic I bought the How to make a 100 break which has chapters from yellow through to Black. I had a 5 x 10 Snooker table when I started with it and each Chapter moves you along right from the basics with each chapter asking you to play a match and make a break of what ever then the next chapter a little bigger and so on. I finished the Brown chapter with a 40 break and was making them pretty consistenty and in fact my second tournament that Terry talked me into playing in I ran a 43. The week after my 43 I sold my 5 x 10 and bought an old Burroughs and Watts 6 x 12 with extremely tight pockets. 3-1/8" which Cliff played on and called it Snooker Prison. That's when my problems begun. I could not make a ball and I started to jab at it, confidence went down the road with my 5 x10 and I could not run 10. Sure it was a 5 x10 but you still have to make position to run 40. I have struggled ever since and never went back to my Snooker Gym. I thought about The Snooker Gym the other night. Maybe it was time to start at the beginning. Sorry for the long reply but I had to explain myself. Now you really have me thinking....LOL

That's the good thing with this game, it keeps your mind active. Just got to try and focus on the things that will help your game rather than worry about what you can or can't do. Nic's YouTube channel is always interesting, he sometimes goes a bit too deep in analysis but it's good to look at and pick things up.

[Csmith]

If you take the reds above the black first, then if you get slightly high on the black, the reds below the black will be a problem as cannons become inevitable. In trying to avoid cannons, you then end up maneuvering the cue ball in a way that you wouldn't normally do in a match and so the lineup no longer becomes a match-ready routine (one of my main issues with the lineup in general) in fact would HARM your game, rather than help it.

One of my friends suggests not placing any reds below the black at all as these aren't as common in match play. He suggests 4 reds between black and pink, 5 reds between pink and blue, and 6 reds between blue and baulk. Alternately, try 6-5-4 instead also. In this setup, the reds he suggests taking first are the ones around black and pink. This way, you can play proper stuns off the pink and black and avoid cannons. I have found that once you get these reds cleared, the lineup becomes much easier.

The more advanced players are doing the lineup sequentially, but at the level you are playing at, I would say it's too difficult.

To cannon or not to cannon is the other issue I have with the lineup. Lineup fundamentalists will say no cannons while guys like me would say play the cannon (because you would in match play) if necessary.

In terms of missing, if you DO miss, setup the routine from the beginning. This way, you build your pressure muscles.

Not sure I agree. I find reds near the top cushion are very common, and although they aren't often situated directly below the black, it gives a lot of practice confidently knocking in balls near the rail. Definitely improved that aspect of the game for me. Avoiding these reds aren't too difficult, just need to hit either center cue ball or just slightly below center depending on the angle of the black.

I also would avoid canons simply because the line up is in part a positional drill, so the focus should be on keeping the cue ball away from the cushion getting the correct angle on each red and colour. And since all reds are available there is no need to canon anything. I will keep going if I knock a red out of place, but primarily just to practice getting on a red that is now only available in one pocket.

I've been practicing the X drill recently and it might make it a bit easier to canon a few reds into different places, but that wouldn't really be in the spirit of the drill. Canons are a part of the game and an important part of break building, but there are routines specifically meant to help you develop this.

For Les, I would focus on fixing fundamental flaws, one at a time. For break building I would identify specific shots or positional shots where things go wrong and work on those. And as others have stated, enjoy the game and don't be in too much of a rush. If you can fix flaws one at a time without developing new ones you theoretically have to get better.